Difference btw hydrocodone and oxycodone?

What is the exact difference between hydrocodone/Vicodin/ loratab and oxycodone/ Percocet? I know Percocet is supposed to be lil stronger but what is the real difference? Does one work better on other pains? What's the difference btw hydro and oxy? Thanks!!

vicodin, lortab, lorcet - all contain the narcotic HYDROCODONE while percocet contains the narcotic OXYCODONE. They have different chemical make-ups. All of the hydrocodone meds I listed also contain acetaminophen (tylenol). As far as I'm aware, they do not make a hydrocodone pill that does NOT contain acetaminophen.

Percocet also contains acetaminophen, however, you can get oxycodone alone wthout the acetaminophen in it. Oxycodone can also be obtained in a long-acting formula called Oxycontin.

Since everyone is different and their pain is also different, it's impossible for anyone to say whether one is better than the other. I'd suggest talking with your doctor about pain control if you require it and let him/her suggest/prescribe what he/she thinks is most appropriate for you.

Geminigirl explained the differences between Percocet and Vicodin very clearly. I would just add that based on pharmacology, hydrocodone (contained in vicodin, lortab, norco) is about 0.6 times the strength of morphine (i.e., 10 mg of morphine equals 16 mg of hydrocodone). Oxycodone (contained in percocet, roxicodone, oxycontin) is about 2 times the strength of morphine (i.e., 10 mg of morphine equals 5 mg of oxycodone). Therefore, 5 mg of oxycodone is about 16 mg of hydrocodone so oxycodone is about 3 times stronger than hydrocodone. However, geminigirl is right in that everyone is different. I have read that some say hydrocodone works better for their pain than percocet and viceversa. For me, percocet works a lot better for my pain.

Hydrocodone does not come without acetaminophen...yet. There is a drug in development called, Zohydro that would be a long-acting form of hydrocodone without acetaminophen. Clinical trials are underway but the drug won't be on the consumer market until probably early 2014.

Thank Femmy! That's basically the answer I wanted! I knew all the other info that Geminigirl said but I just wanted to know the pharmaceutical info detail. Like why is oxy stronger and what makes it oxy and what makes it hydro... I know their synthetic derivatives of codeine. I've taken both. Oxy is a lil stronger but makes me itch more and makes me agitated. Thanks both of y'all!;)

I'm still not sure of the exact difference in the oxy and hydro. Years ago when I started to PM my PC was giving me the hydro, and because I was not getting the best relief on the hydro, they started me off on Percocet and I understood that it was stronger, They had to take it out of a locked box at the pharmacy and all that, so I thought I would finally get some relief, but low and behold, it barely did anything, and caused me to itch, so they changed me back to hydro. I am 10 yrs later and still using the Norco 10/325 and it does still work amazingly pretty good, but my now pain mgnt doctor gives me 5 mg oxydodone twice a day in addition to the Norco for more relief. I didn't realize it at the time but that is Percocet which I took yrs ago, and I noticed when I got this that it didn't seem to help much at all. But my real question here is why does it make me itch? The hydrocodone does not. I didn't notice it last month that much, but this month it has been bad on the itching.

I itch with all narcotics. They cause a histamine release so usually taking Benadryl will help if it isn't a severe itch I can't have morphine because I literally rub my face and arms raw and Benadryl does nothing.

I can't take any anti-inflammatory meds, boy, you talk about a stomach ache!
And,I'm sorry that I can't, because with this arthritis it would help. I am still struggling with this oxycodone thing just not seeming to do anything for my pain. Everybody keeps saying how much stronger it is but I can honestly say I can't tell that it does anything for me. I get 5 mgs twice a day, and even taking them together, nothing. I am to see my pain doctor Monday and I am going to plead with him to just give me back an extra hydrocodone like I use to be on. I know they fear for the acetaminophen affects on the liver, but it is pretty much a waste of money. Does anyone have any idea why it just doesn't work?

One thing I have not see anyone say about the differences in hydrocodone and oxycodone is that hydrocodone is schedule III while oxycodone is a scheduled II...... I am a nurse who also suffers chronic pain due to 3 spinal surgeries & I am a chronic pain sufferer activist, and the reason many doctors will write hydrocodone and not oxycodone is due that difference in scheduling, unfortunately the DEA frowns upon doctors who write for pain meds as the war on rugs I actually a war on he pain patient an the doctors who treat them

If I understand what you are saying dmoe32 I agree with you. I too am in chronic pain because of a twisted spine caused by polio. I've tried everything and the only thing that helps at all is narcotic pain meds. With the government involvement it is getting harder and harder to get the meds I need to function. I wish there was some way to convince the powers that be that at my age it doesn't really matter if I am dependent on meds as long as I can still function.

Itching is common for ppl on opiates. Its often due to an allergy to something in the medication. It could be to the hydro itself or to one of the inactive ingredients in the pill. Only by experimenting with different meds can you narrow it down to exactly what U R allergic to.

I agree. At my age and health, what is the problem with being addicted? I have arithiritic, which grows spurs and have permanent back problems. I need 2 knee replacements. I can't funtion without pain medicine and I am almost 70. Just let me be comfortable for what time I have left!!!!! I have degenerative disc and bone disease, am diabetic, have migraines, I can hardly walk because of severe knee pain. Daddysgirl600

You know daddysgirl600 and savak, who cares if you're dependent on a medication prescribed by your doctor whether it's a narcotic or not, whether you take it and it makes you feel sleepy, or calm or even loopy. It doesn't necessarily mean you're addicted even medically speaking. Hear is the medical definition of addiction.

I take solace in those last words in the definition. I am prescribed Norco 10mg/325. I have been taking hydrocodone for eight years regularly and much longer than that if I had an occasional severe pain situation. I didn't want to increase my refills from six months on average to every other month to monthly and increase my mg and dosage but my doctor and I felt it was the best option available to me and I am always allowed to take them as needed. I do have a withdrawal symptoms if I don't take one for a day or two, and the withdrawal strength can vary depending on if I took my full daily doses or needed less and if this was for one day, or a week straight , I have never wanted to go and take a pain pill for NON PAIN withdrawal symptoms(unless I mistake them for candy, even for a second. But that's rare now that I don't keep any pills in my pez dispensers lol:). Now, many of my family members are prescribed a wide assortment of medications, and if they miss one dosage on most of these and not just things that are obvious, like psyche-meds, but just maintanence type meds, like for cholesterol, blood pressure or blood thinners, their withdrawal symptoms are much more severe than my worst withdrawal session and it's definitely more mental addiction than what I deal with because if I can figure out what's wrong with that person and give them the dosage missed, they immediately have a reduction in symptoms. Even before that damn thing could hit their stomach they feel and act a major reduction in symptoms. Yep, mind over matter on that but they can't do it without having that pill head down their throat. So there you go, who gives a **** if people are addicted to something that will help them lead a better quality of life? As long as you aren't going rogue on your meds and trying to get a high, you are only trying to improve your quality of life, same thing doctors used to always be able to help us with without worrying about breaking a law, or more likely, not being able to get an HMO, or a medical insurance company, or maybe even a hospital bureaucracy to allow our doctors to do their job.
Sorry I went off about that, but I get a lot of guff from one person in my family for taking narcotic pain relievers and I don't think we should have to worry about 'addiction' and all the nastiness it entails when we aren't doing this to get by, be high or ignore life.

All of you with itching caused by these or any drugs (and/or foods for that matter) PLEASE pay attention to your body's reaction...a little topical itching is one thing. But... as a rule of thumb, if you are itching on the outside, what is it doing to you on the inside?? A true allergic reaction can be life threatening. Sorry--the nurse in me just had to say that. And...Best of luck with your pain management!

All opioids cause a histamine release in mammals, which is dependent on dose, route of administration, and heterogeneity of the patient.

This is why most people itch when taking opioids. Opioid-related itch can be treated with an oral antihistamine, for instance, 25-50mg of benedryl.

In extremely rare occasions, opioids can cause a true anaphylactic reaction that requires a full emergency response including airway management and treatment with injectable antihistamine and/or epinephrine.

Many people who have an allergic response to strong opiates like morphine but do not actually express a true immunoglobulin-mediated allergy, will show an intolerance to the drug. In this case, anesthesiologists will often substitute hydromorphone without incident.

I think its been well explained here that oxycodone is MUCH stronger than hydrocodone. But if you really want to know, the only difference from a pharmacological point of view, is that on the 14th carbon, with Hydro, there is an 'H' atom, and with oxy, there is a hydroxyl group ("OH".)

I have a degree in pharmacology and am fascinated by how such a tiny change can have such an enormous effect on the human body.

In my state, a doctor can phone in a script for hydrocone. But oxy? NO way. You have to physically bring in the piece of paper yourself.

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